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Poll Shows American Catholics Go With Their Faith Over Their Religion
Tweet Share on Facebook March 31, 2009 Comment (22)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
A new Gallup poll is out that finds almost no difference between mainstream American Catholics and non-Catholics when it comes to deciding the moral acceptability of abortion (a majority of both say no) and embryonic stem cell research (a majority of both say yes).
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Am I the Last Capitalist? Obama Falters on Rick Wagoner, GM, and the Auto Industry
Tweet Share on Facebook March 30, 2009 Comment (104)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
It's French Revolution time. The White House put General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner's head on the guillotine this morning, when it required his resignation as a condition for further bailout money. Buried in the coverage was the fact that technically Wagoner will have to stay on board at his $1-a-year salary, because if he really resigned he'd be paid millions in severance under the terms of his contract, which the White House doesn't want either. Even the Washington Post called the move "an extraordinary intervention of the federal government into the management of a private company." The stock market dropped about 300 points as a result, ending its rally.
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If Women Ran the World the Economy Wouldn't Need Fixing
Tweet Share on Facebook March 27, 2009 Comment (11)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
This very insightful commentary is from a man--a former colleague of mine from the Bush #41 speechwriting shop, Mark Lange of the Christian Science Monitor. The headline reads: “What if women ran the world? Male hubris has made a mess.” -
Karl Rove Is Right About Obama's Coming Banana Republic Economy
Tweet Share on Facebook March 26, 2009 Comment (10)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
This morning's Wall Street Journal includes a good op-ed pointing out the discrepancy between the president's statement on Tuesday that his budget moves us from an era of "borrow and spend" to an era of "save and invest." Take a look at this and then I'll tell you who wrote it:
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Obama Ignored American's Long-Term Deficit Worries At Last Night's Press Conference
Tweet Share on Facebook March 25, 2009 Comment (7)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The president did a great job last night at his second prime-time press conference. He has a very reassuring way of speaking, one that is instructive and (at least so far) not lecturing. His closing remarks on the value of patience and persistence were right on the mark.
President Obama held the press conference because he knows there is a lot of anxiety among voters right now. I think he might be misunderstanding the source of that anxiety. Let me explain:
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Jay Leno Bursts AIG Bonus-Tax Bubble, a Relief Indeed
Tweet Share on Facebook March 24, 2009 Comment (28)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The bubble has finally burst. I'm not talking about the credit bubble. Or the housing bubble. I'm talking about the bonus bubble—that ugly, reckless behavior by Congress last week that threatened targeted taxes on AIG executives who failed to return their bonuses. The bonus bubble grew last week as the president promised to get the AIG bonuses back by "every legal avenue"...as Senator Grassley called for AIG executives to commit suicide...and busloads of angry citizens reportedly roved the Connecticut suburbs looking for bonus-takers. The worst of it was when Congressman Barney Frank threatened to subpoena those who accepted bonuses to appear before Congress and CEO Ed Liddy voiced his concerns about their safety, citing E-mails he'd received warning employees of being strangled with piano wire.
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Avoiding the Business Backlash to AIG Bonus Outrage
Tweet Share on Facebook March 23, 2009 Comment (1)Last Thursday night, a question that Jay Leno asked President Obama caught my attention. The substance of that same question made the weekend talk shows and now the Monday papers: What's preventing Congress from passing more legislation that imposes sky-high taxes on specific segments of our population, as it did when the House voted to impose a 90 percent tax on AIG executives who kept their bonuses? "It seems a little scary to me as a taxpayer that they can just decide that," said Leno.
Jay Leno was on to something. Singling out groups of taxpayers is scary. When Leno asked Obama about it, the president didn't have much of an answer. But since Thursday night, the president's team has apparently thought about it: Anger from members of Congress directed at banking leaders could derail the administration's toxic assets plan being unveiled today. And so over the weekend, the White House tried to put the kibosh on the targeted tax that passed the House. The administration hasn't said yet that it'll veto the measure if it passes the Senate, but I bet that's under consideration.
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Obama '60 Minutes' Interview Nothing Like the Jay Leno Disaster
Tweet Share on Facebook March 23, 2009 Comment (27)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
All of the problems with President Obama's appearance on Jay Leno disappeared last night on 60 Minutes. There were no attempts at humor that backfired or needed an apology afterward. A serious reporter, Steve Kroft, was controlling the agenda, not a professional comedian. Most of all, the interview did nothing to diminish of the office of the presidency—if anything, having the interview take place at the White House added to the President's credibility and enhanced his stature.
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Jay Leno Wins on Tonight Show, But Obama and His Special Olympics Joke Flop
Tweet Share on Facebook March 20, 2009 Comment (71)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The morning shows were abuzz with reviews of President Obama's performance last night on Jay Leno's show. I still say he shouldn't have done it. Here are the reasons this was a bad idea from the start:
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AIG Bonus Demagoguery Is a Distraction. Turn the Page.
Tweet Share on Facebook March 19, 2009 Comment (7)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I've been avoiding writing about the AIG bonuses, because my children need a mother. Really, I've been taken aback at the level of vitriol this week on TV, in newspapers, and in the blogosphere: the calls for Treasury Secretary Geithner to resign over what he knew about the AIG bonuses and when he knew it; the anger at Senator Dodd for allegedly inserting the loophole that allowed the bonuses in the first place. On Tuesday, there was the appalling statement by one Republican senator that AIG executives should resign or "go commit suicide." Then, CEO Ed Liddy told lawmakers yesterday he'd gotten E-mails suggesting AIG leaders be executed "with piano wire around their necks." Take a look at the language in Maureen Dowd's most recent column on the subject of the "arrogant, greedy creeps who knee-capped capitalism." Columnist Tom Friedman said the anger among Americans "is reaching a 'Bonfire of the Vanities,' get-out-the-pitchforks danger level." The amount of grandstanding on Capitol Hill and in the press is approaching demagoguery.
